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Kelowna’s Gospel Mission is hosting its second annual charity golf tournament Friday at Sunset Ranch Golf and Country Club.

The goal of the tournament is to raise $20,000 for emergency shelter programs.

‘It’s been a very difficult year at our shelter with increased need and lack of housing available,” said Randy Benson, executive director of the Gospel Mission. “This is a great opportunity to have fun while helping those in need.”

Kelowna Gospel Mission thanked its volunteers and service partners for a job well done, Thursday.

The mission held its annual Well Done Barbecue, serving up burgers at the Leon Avenue agency to those who help feed and shelter the homeless.

“This is our seventh annual ... and it’s a time to celebrate and get together with all the service providers and to recognize the good work that we do here in Kelowna," said executive director Randy Benson.

Kelowna’s Gospel Mission’s staff were overwhelmed by the generosity of the Morningside Rotary Club with a timely gift of a commercial steamer to help prepare over 600 meals per day.

The shelter relies on a steamer to cook their eggs, potatoes, vegetables, rice and pasta. They were distraught when it broke down with the big Easter banquet coming up. With the limited stoves and stove tops, they weren’t sure how they would cook the 300 pounds of potatoes that the banquet required. This is when the Morningside Rotary Club stepped in. After hearing about the breakdown they purchased a brand new steamer at the cost of $5,000.

A delicious Easter dinner awaits at Kelowna's Gospel Mission.

Volunteers have been busy preparing 50 turkeys, 300 pounds of potatoes and 21 hams that will be served on Saturday from Noon until 6:00 p.m.

"We strive every day to bring that hope, whether it is to homeless, the working poor or the seniors in need that we serve," said Randy Benson, executive director of the Gospel Mission. "These meals are so important for bringing people together in a family-like atmosphere and Kelowna is a family.

With the help of Kelowna Gospel Mission, he’s been clean and off the streets.

Now, this is his second year volunteering at the mission’s Stride to End Homelessness.

He volunteers at the mission almost every week, he said.

“I came here and the staff saved my life so I keep on coming back,” said O’Brien.

He volunteers at the event to meet new people and bring awareness to the community, he said.

“If you show that you’re really working towards yourself, they’ll do anything. I can’t give enough back for what they’ve done for me.”

Many people shiver and complain going from their warm home to their car in the morning.

But, what about the homeless, who have nowhere to go to escape the frigid temperatures?

The Homeless Hub recently researched how many people call the streets of Kelowna home.

In 2016, they came out with a study that determined 279 individuals are estimated to be living on the streets, and 164 are living in homeless shelters.

During this cold snap, Kelowna's Gospel Mission is open all hours of the day to make sure the homeless keep warm.

You know the adage “You can’t judge a book by its cover?”

The same is true of Kelowna’s Gospel Mission. Drive down the 200 block of Leon Avenue and you may well see a handful of people standing or sitting around on either side of the street.

To too many people in Kelowna, that IS Kelowna’s Gospel Mission.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Inside the walls is a totally different story.

The average number of people we serve in a day is around 200.

Of those, 33 per cent have a place to live and use our services of food and support in order to remain housed. Fifty per cent of the people that come through our doors have an active case plan and are working with a case worker to achieve independence and self-sustenance.

KELOWNA - Kelowna’s Gospel Mission will serve their annual Christmas Dinner to anyone in the community from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 259 Leon Ave.

With the help of community support, Kelowna’s Gospel Mission expects to serve close to 700 Christmas meals on Saturday.

People from all over the Central Okanagan, including many seniors and families, will come to enjoy our traditional Christmas meal of turkey with stuffing, ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, rolls and pie.

KelownaNow podcast: Sonja Menyes from Kelowna's Gospel Mission
It's arguably the most challenging time of the year for the Kelowna Gospel Mission.

Not only is it the holidays, which is a tough time of year for a lot of people, especially those down on their luck, but it's also the coldest time of the year.

Temperatures have been hitting -20C in Kelowna at night over the last few days and haven't been going above zero during the day, which aren't only tough conditions to sleep in, but tough conditions to survive in.

Local restaurants will treat clients of the Gospel Mission in downtown Kelowna to gourmet meals over the next several weeks.

The restaurants will bring chefs, staff and food to the mission, and cook up meals for more than 200 people.

“The Christmas season is a difficult time for the homeless and these great restaurants are helping to bring hope for the holidays,” Randy Benson, executive director of the Gospel Mission, said in a press release. “We are so humbled and grateful.”

Christmas in our Community is the second annual event sponsored by Kelowna’s Gospel Mission and Powers Creek Community Church, to help bring Christmas to West Kelowna’s friends and neighbours.

It is being held at Westbank Lions Community Centre, 2466 Main Street, West Kelowna, beginning at 5:30pm on Saturday, November 26, 2016.

At this stage of her life, the Kelowna Gospel Mission is home for Sheyanne Smith.

She has been living at the emergency shelter since January when her family lost the home that she, her mom, brother and mom's boyfriend were living in.

Living at the Gospel Mission until she can find another form of housing, Sheyanne has volunteered there every day on an average of 10 to 12 hours a day, sometimes more.

After shutting its doors six weeks ago, the Kelowna Gospel Mission’s free dental clinic will reopen Monday.

For more than a decade the clinic has been offering free treatment to clients who need dental work but don’t have the means to pay for it

It’s traditionally the Kelowna Gospel Mission’s biggest meal, but this Thanksgiving the need is even greater with homeless numbers in the city reaching staggering highs.

Kelowna’s Gospel Mission courtyard is officially open for use.

Leon Avenue has often been cluttered with the personal belongings of those served by the Gospel Mission – causing complaints about the eyesore.

Randy Benson with the Gospel Mission says there was no place for clients to wait for services outside except the sidewalk, but that has changed.

Expect Leon Avenue to look a little less cluttered, as new free storage units will give Kelowna’s homeless a place to store their carts and belongings.

The Kelowna Gospel Mission has just finished construction of 12 small sheds, making them available to its clients free of charge.

The mission partnered with the City of Kelowna and BC Housing to construct the sheds, to deal with what executive director Randy Benson calls the “the whole situation on Leon Avenue.”

The Kelowna Gospel Mission has partnered with outside agencies to help solve the issue of clutter and congestion along Leon Avenue.

Kelowna's Gospel Mission holds first ever charity golf classic

Randy Benson’s business is booming, but he won’t get a million-dollar bonus.

In 15 years on the job, Benson has quadrupled staff and serves twice as many clients daily, but that’s not necessarily good news, either.

Benson is executive director of Kelowna Gospel Mission, the downtown centre with shelter beds, meals and outreach work for the homeless and working poor.

Randy Benson, executive director of Kelowna’s Gospel Mission, said they were offered the dental residency program by UBC this year, but they need a fully licensed dentist in the clinic at all times to oversee everything.

Kelowna’s Gospel Mission applauds community partners with barbecue!
The Mission, found at 259 Leon Ave., hosted members of the Kelowna RCMP, Kelowna city councillors and a variety of local social agencies on Wednesday, June 8, over the lunch hour.

Randy Benson, executive director of Kelowna’s Gospel Mission, said they set out to thank other non-profits and partners in the area who have helped to improve the community over the past year.

KELOWNA – From cooking up soup and hot dogs for lunch, to offering donated toiletries and clothing, a group of grade 12 students from Mount Boucherie Secondary are spending some of their final days in high school getting to know Kelowna’s homeless population.